The fitness industry is rapidly growing. Therefore, several fitness shops are opening around the country and competing for a similar audience to your gym. You need to differentiate your service from the rest to attract a substantial market base. One of the ways you can do this is by selecting the right name for your gym. Your prospective customers must have heard the name of the gym before they even know what you are offering.
The name also gives the personality and the identity of your brand. This way, you can give your audience a preview of who are and what you do. Unfortunately, coming up with gym names can be challenging. In this article, you are going to learn the importance of a good business name and steps to follow when coming up with creative gym names.
Why should you select the right business name?
The name embodies everything about your gym business. It gives your brand the voice, personality, core values and the vision of your gym. The audience is able to tell what you do and how you do it. You can also tell a story of your life with the name.
Grabs attention and enhances recall
A good name captures the attention of your users. Then, it becomes the word that comes to mind when your target audience is looking for quality fitness training.
Influences user perception
You can use your name to influence how the users view your brand. Perception plays a role in the effectiveness of your marketing methods and shapes your branding strategy.
Steps to use when coming up with a name for your gym
As discussed above, the gym name is a vital component of the business as a whole. Below are a few steps on how to generate name ideas for your fitness business.
Know your potential market
You always have the target customers in mind when coming up with a business name. This enables you to get a name that presents the right message about your business. To determine your target market, start your research using demographics such as income, location, gender and level of education. Create a wholesome gym persona of your potential clients.
Check how the competition is doing it
The local competitors are looking at a similar audience as you. Therefore. Some of the ideas that they are implementing can work in your case. Look at their choice of the brand name and ways they engage their audience. Use this to gain insight into your naming. However, do not use a name that is similar to any of the competitors so that you do not end up losing clients to rivals due to the name confusion.
Select your archetype
The archetypes are those characteristics that determine your brand. They are also the models of thinking and long-lasting truths that form part of the brand perception. Popular archetypes include the hero, magician, caregiver, lover and the outlaw. Create a name around any that you pick to bring pout the personality defined by the archetype. Brands like Nike and Gymshark have created names around such models as heroism and magician.
Generate name ideas using online tools
You will find various business name generators on the internet. These free tools will ask for the type of business and come up with tons of names. While these names may not be the most inspirational ones out there, the ideas can give you insights for your brainstorming. The good thing is that these tools are free. You can always play about with various elements to see what names you can get. Then, pick a few names and improve them to create excellent results.
Keep your name simple
Create a simple, straightforward name for your gym. Remember, when it comes to business names, simple ones are the most memorable. You also want a name that your customers can share out with ease. However, being simple does not mean that it should be boring. Always pick a catchy name that shows what your fitness business is all about.
Here are a few examples of simple but effective business names, SoulCycle, Cobody and Bam Bam Boogie. In the above examples, SoulCycle’s main fitness activity is cycling, while Cobody main business is getting fit in a small space. If you are running a business with various services, you do not need to be specific on a particular activity. Instead, you can go for gym name suggestions such as Fit Train, FitPro, Cheetah Gym and Ribbed Lift.
Get a different perspective
You may find it hard to come up with names on your own. In such a case, ask for help from other people. They can inspire you and help you find insights out of the box. On the other hand, if you have gym name ideas and are not sure if they are good, shortlist the best ones and ask for other people’s views on the same. Professionals in the fitness industry are a good point to start.
However, if you would like to try various gym name ideas on a circle that is larger than your immediate one, you may use social testing tools such as SurveyMonkey. With such online tools, you can send your ideas to a small focus group and get detailed feedback. Since the focus group does not know you, they are more likely to give honest feedback.
You can also get prospects from your target audience and ask them a few quests on gym names. Here are examples:
• Is there a memorable gym that you know?
• What does the name remind you?
• What would you expect from gyms with similar names?
Check if you can use the name and domain
It is essential that you check if the name is free or similar businesses are using it. This saves you from unnecessary lawsuits from the use of a registered business name.
On the other hand, you need your domain to look similar to your name. Given that over 65% of your target market are likely to search for a business online, you would want the name that comes to their mind to point to your domain. After securing your domain name, go ahead and create an excellent gym website. Also, consider having a gym management system to meet your customer service expectations.
Examples of excellent gym names
ConBody fitness group showcases it offers as activities as prison-style fitness. CossMarte created the company while he was incarcerated. These classes are designed based on workouts that he could complete in his 9″ by 6″ cell. In essence, this business name tells a story of the owner’s life and the kind of fitness styles you would expect from its classes.
A boxer called Kristina Ejem started this company. During her physical training on boxing, she had first-hand experience of how women boxers are disadvantaged in their training. Since there were very few opportunities for women to join boxing, she started a niche in this area. This is when Girls Just Wanna Box was established. From the business name, it offers courses that are specifically designed for women who would like to join boxing. This name provides an excellent example of how one can communicate the product directly to the audience using a name.
Conclusion
The choice of creative gym names affects customer perception, brand marketing strategy, and product positioning. Use the examples and ideas generated in this article to clear a perfect name for your fitness business. A good name is several steps ahead into marketing your gym.
Once you’ve got your gym brand name sorted out you’re going to need gym management software. That’s where Gymcatch can help, book a demo and see what we can do for you.
Ollie founded Gymcatch in 2015 with the aim of making participation in fitness easier for all. As founder, Ollie served as CEO since Gymcatch’s inception. He’s currently focused on growing the platform through strategic partnerships, corporate development and growing the team. Prior to founding Gymcatch, Ollie spent 10 years at Barclays, latterly as a Director covering the TMT sector. He gained an MBA with Honours from the University of Chicago in 2013 and higher class honours in Philosophy and International Relations from the University of Bristol. Outside of the office, Ollie enjoys travelling, playing and watching cricket and spending time with his young family. He supports a number of charities focused on increasing physical participation.
